Lockheed Martin launch virtual technology cluster to support SMEs

Advanced security and technology company Lockheed Martin and Restoration Partners, a boutique technology merchant bank, have created the Lockheed Martin Virtual Technology Cluster (VTC), a pioneering initiative to connect a growing number of entrepreneurial innovators in the UK with Lockheed Martin’s global supply chain and technology programmes.

Through the VTC, individuals and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) can obtain professional support, guidance and advice plus investment to develop their technologies and find a route to market.

More than 140 entrepreneurs, technology experts, investors, academics and industry leaders gathered in Farnborough today to learn how they could support long term growth of the UK’s technology supply chain through their involvement in the fight against cyber-crime.

With an initial focus on SMEs with niche offerings in cyber security, the VTC will also seek to support companies involved in other emerging technology. This could range from using multiple streams of information to help decision making to creating simulated technology environments for testing and evaluating or novel biometric technologies for identification purposes.

The VTC will help bolster the UK supply chain to be capable of delivering these technologies, and membership criteria will continue to evolve to reflect the needs and anticipated demands of the market place. The VTC has already generated significant interest from government and the business community across the UK.

Lockheed Martin UK specialises in the development, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The company employs more than 3,300 people in the UK across 21 sites, working on a wide range of major programmes spanning the aerospace, defence and civil sectors.